Glans Penis Ischemia after Circumcision in a 15-Year-Old Patient Managed with Intravenous Pentoxifylline: A Case Report and a Diagnostic-Therapeutic Guideline Proposal

Abstract

Glans ischemia is an extremely infrequent complication characterized by a total or partial compromise in the penile arterial perfusion. A 15-year-old male patient suffered an episode of ischemia in the glans penis post-circumcision 24 h after surgery. Intravenous treatment with continuous perfusion of pentoxifylline was started for 4 days, with favorable evolution. Complete resolution was observed with no sequelae. There is no consensus on the best therapeutic management. The favorable evolution reported in most of the cases despite different therapeutic approaches leads us to think that the role of the treatments proposed so far is probably less than we believe. Additionally, we present a proposal for a diagnostic and therapeutic guide for this entity. Although the evidence in the literature is scarce and this guideline should be interpreted with caution, we believe that it can constitute a support resource for cases similar to ours.